Sonic Z
by MasterShadic
Summary: What happens when you combine Sonic characters with the Dragonball Z universe? This story. It follows the manga like Kai , but I have thrown in some extras here and there, and tried to make it less cheesy. Enjoy. -UPDATE- Chapter 10 is out!
1. Prolouge to Battle! The Return of Sonic!

_**Cast:**  
Sonic as Goku  
Miles "Tails" Prower as Gohan Amy Rose as Chi Chi  
Espio as Krillin  
Uncle Chuck as Master Roshi Rouge as Bulma  
Scourge as Raditz  
Vector as Tein  
Omega-123 as Yamcha  
Charmy Bee as Chiaotzu  
Big as Mr. Popo  
Knuckles as Piccolo  
Locke as Kame_

**...**_  
_

**Sonic Z**

**Episode #1**  
**"Prologue to Battle"**

**...  
**

On the faraway planet Vegeta, a small baby blue hedgehog cries for the first time. "His energy level is pretty low." said an old doctor, walking over to a computer terminal. "This planet looks like it would fetch a fine price. Send him to Earth." Little did they know that planet Vegeta was under attack from the most ruthless tyrant in the universe.

Meanwhile, hundreds of soldiers hovered above the doomed planet. And they were all attacking one, lone person. It was a blue hedgehog with a large tail, who was shooting energy blasts left and right, killing any soldier in-between him and the spaceship above him. "Metal!" yelled the hedgehog. No sooner had he said it than a shadowy shape emerged from the space ship. "I figured it out. You were planning to kill us all." said the hedgehog. Metal just stared.  
"It ends now!" screamed the hedgehog, throwing a blue energy ball towards Metal, who raised his index finger. As the blue energy ball loomed closer, a orange orb the size of a ping pong ball appeared above Metal's finger. Just as the ball that the hedgehog threw was within a few yards of Metal, the orange orb swelled to twice the size of the spaceship, engulfing the now dwarfed blue energy ball.  
"No!" yelled the hedgehog.  
"Hmhm. Ahhahahaha!" Metal began to laugh manically as he threw the colossal orb at the hedgehog, and the planet. "Noooooooooo!" The hedgehog cried out in agony as he too was vaporized by the energy orb. As the orb continued to the planet, Metal kept on chuckling. As the planet exploded into a fiery ball, a small space pod from it fled into deep space, unnoticed.

**__****...**

_**Long ago, in a wooded forest, an old man named Chuck was taking a hike when he found a round spacecraft in a clearing, and inside was a crying, blue hedgehog. Sonic the Hedgehog! As Sonic grew up, he made both friends and enemies, and learned martial arts from his Uncle Chuck. He met Rouge, and he helped her find the Dragon Emeralds. Seven mystical gems that, when collected, would summon the Master of Chaos to grant a wish. Sonic's greatest challenge came when he faced the evil King Knuckles, who threatened to take over the planet. While almost evenly matched, Sonic won, while at the same time discovering he had super speed. With his dying breath, King Knuckles hatched (literally) a new plan, and Knuckles Jr. was born. Five years later, a grown up Sonic faced off against a reborn Knuckles, and while still evenly matched, he won. Knuckles fled, and a few years later, Sonic married his childhood sweetheart Amy. And the world was at peace. Until now...**_

_**...  
**_

Above the blue and green planet known as Earth, a round space pod roared towards the tiny planet. With a mighty crash, the pod landed. The door opened to a green hedgehog-like creature. But this was no ordinary hedgehog. It wore a leather jacket, boots, and had an odd looking eye piece attached to the side of his head. A shocked farmer looked on in awe, and sheer terror. The hedgehog hit a button on the eye piece. It beeped.  
"Ha. A power level of six. Pathetic." chuckled the hedgehog. "What are you?" asked the farmer, pulling his rifle from his truck. The green hedgehog came closer. "Stay back! Or, or I'll shoot!" The hedgehog kept walking until he was breathing his foul breath into the man's face. The farmer fired, but there was no impact. The hedgehog had caught the bullet.  
"Wha-what are you!" yelled the farmer, terrified. The hedgehog smiled. It was a horrible, evil grin. He flicked the bullet back at the farmer, which flew straight through the farmer's head and into his truck, causing the engine block to burst into flames. The hedgehog calmly turned around as though nothing of interest had happened.  
"Now... where are you?" muttered the hedgehog, hitting the button again. It beeped.  
"Power level three-sixteen. That must be him!" said the hedgehog as he jumped into the sky, flying towards his destination.

_**...**_

"Let's see... this one looks good." A blue hedgehog with spiky hair spoke to himself in the middle of a forest, looking at a tree. "Yah!" The blue hedgehog punched the tree, which fell with a mighty crash. He then proceeded to collect some wood from the fallen tree. Satisfied, the hedgehog dashed away. He stopped when he got to a clearing in the forest, the only house for miles. It sat with a cliff to it's north and a mighty river to the east. School clothes were hanging outside, drying off. He dropped the wood near the back door when a pink hedgehog, her hair pulled back with a red band, walked out.  
"Sonic!" yelled the pink hedgehog.  
"Yes, Amy?" asked the blue hedgehog.  
"Have you seen Miles? He was playing around outside. He must have snuck off again."  
"No, but I'll go look for him." He took a step back towards the forest before getting stopped again.  
"Wait! Why don't you take Nimbus? You'll be able to see better from the sky." said Amy.  
Sonic dejectedly muttered "Fine," as he summoned the flying cloud Nimbus. He would much rather go on foot, running at high speed and the rush of adrenaline that came with it. Just as he was taking off, Amy interrupted again.  
"Wait!"  
"What?"  
"Be back in time for dinner." Sonic rolled his eyes at her. "Can I leave now? You know, to look for our son?"  
"Yes! Go find him."  
"You sure?"  
"GO!"  
"Ok!"

_**...**_

"You're so pretty." said a two tailed fox, balancing on a log. He was looking at a strikingly beautiful bird. As he was watching, the bird began to fly away. "Wait! Come back!" yelled the kitsune, reaching out to the bird. Big mistake. The log he was on was perched atop a riverbank; at least it was. The log tumbled into the raging river, the kitsune struggling to stay above water. "Help! Daddy!" but his dad was nowhere near here. No one knew he was here. He held on to the log as the current pulled it into a pitch black cave.

_**...**_

"Tails! Tails!" Sonic was flying high above the forest, towards the cliff side. He was flying over a river when he heard a faint cry: "Help! Daddy!"  
"Tails? Tails! No!" but it was too late, and Tails had been swept into the cave.  
He flew around to the other side, thinking he could get him when he came out of the cave. When he got around to the other side, he saw the log Tails had been clinging to, plummeting down the waterfall at the end of the cave.  
"Tails!"  
"Daddy! Help!" the cry came, not from below, but from above the cave exit. Sonic floated up to a branch sticking out of the cliffside. Tails was hanging onto it for dear life. Tails looked up, and upon seeing his dad, jumped into his arms.  
"Daddy! It was so scary! There was a bird, and then..." Sonic couldn't understand how Tails had gotten up on the branch. It was at least twenty feet up from the exit of the cave.  
"Did you jump?" asked Sonic.  
For the first time, Tails took a good look around.  
"I...I guess so." said Tails.

_**...**_

The flight home was a quiet one, with Sonic being deep in thought, and Tails traumatized.  
_  
More evidence that Tails could be trained to fight. I've got to convince Amy to allow me to do that. But how?_

_I know! I'll tell her it counts as an extracarik... uh... sport at school. Yeah, she'll fall for that._

___**...**_

Knuckles had almost perfected a new technique, one that was sure to bring Sonic to his knees. He was standing on top of a large mesa in the middle of a rocky desert. He began charging the attack again, drilling the technique into his brain.  
"Chaos...! What?" Knuckles had sensed a large amount of energy coming his way.

'Who is that? Surely it's not Sonic, why would he be looking for me? How could he have even found me? No, this isn't Sonic, but it's some sort of hedgehog alright.'

A green hedgehog landed on the mesa, looking straight at Knuckles. "You aren't him. Although you are certainly more powerful than most of the weaklings on this planet. Power level three-oh-seven." said the hedgehog. "That's almost respectable. Almost."  
"What?"  
"Well I'll be going now."

_I think he just insulted me!_

"I'll show you respectable!" Knuckles charged at the green hedgehog in a rage, but it wasn't there anymore. But then he was in front of Knuckles, moving too quickly for him to react. He slammed his elbow into the side of Knuckles' head. Knuckles collapsed to the ground, breathing hard.  
"Pitiful." The hedgehog raised his hand, gathering the chaos energy needed to finish Knuckles off. But before he could strike, the device attached to his head beeped.  
"Another energy reading. This one is slightly stronger. That has to be him." The hedgehog left in a haste. Knuckles lay there, astonished.  
"Who was that?" Knuckles wondered aloud.

_**...**_

"Hurry up and finish eating dinner, Miles. You don't want to be late to Uncle Chuck's, do you?" asked Amy, looking at her son pick apart a salad.  
"But, there's so much green."  
"Well, if you don't eat, you will be starving when you get there. You don't want that, do you?"  
"No, mom." replied Tails, who began to try and eat.  
"Sonic? Are you ready yet?"  
"Yes, Amy!" Sonic yelled back.  
"I'm done." said Tails.  
Amy groaned, looking at the almost untouched salad. "Alright, but you will be very hungry."  
Tails nodded.  
"Let's get you dressed."  
Ten minutes later, Sonic and Tails were on Nimbus.  
"Have fun!" yelled Amy.  
Sonic was off to meet with Uncle Chuck for the first time since his wedding.

_**...**_

Uncle Chuck was busy talking with Espio, while waiting for the others to show. Then there was a knock on the door. "I'll get it." said Espio, getting up and walking to the door. He opened it to Rouge the bat.  
"Hey guys!"  
"Hey Rouge!"  
"So what's up?"  
"Not much," Espio blandly stated. He had never been a very social person. Uncle Chuck piped in.  
"So how are you and Omega doing?"  
"Well, you can only get so far when dating a robot. He still doesn't really understand the concept. He's just so frustrating at times!"  
"Seems like nothing has changed then." said Uncle Chuck. "I never really understood why she tried it in the first place." said Espio.  
"Desperate, I guess." Uncle Chuck has whispered it, but Rouge still heard it from across the room.  
"I heard that!" said Rouge as she hit Chuck in the head.  
They then heard someone else outside. They ran out to find Sonic standing there, with a little kitsune child next to him.  
"Sonic! Good to see you!" said Uncle Chuck. He walked up and gave Sonic a bear hug.  
"So... who's the kid? You babysitting for someone?" asked Rouge.  
"Nope. He's my son."  
"What? You're kidding, right?"  
"Nope."  
"But, he's not even a hedgehog! And he has two tails!"  
"Sonic?" asked Uncle Chuck, noticing that his son had a large tail like Sonic once did. "Have you noticed anything... odd about the boy?"  
"Like when he sees a full moon?" asked Rouge, catching on to Chuck's suspicion.  
"No. I don't think he's ever seen one though. He goes to bed pretty early. Why do you ask?"  
"Uh, not important." said Uncle Chuck.  
"So what's his name?" asked Rouge. "Miles. We call him Tails though."  
"I can see why." said Espio, noticing that the kitsune in fact, had two tails.  
"So how old are you Tails?" asked Rouge. Tails then proceeded to count his age with his fingers.  
"One... T-two... Three... Four. I'm four, miss."  
"So polite! He must get that from Amy." said Rouge, a grin on her face. Sonic just chuckled.  
"Hey! The Blue Chaos Emerald! It's on his hat."  
"Yep! I found it one day in the woods. I also have the red and purple emeralds as well."  
"So did he inherit your strength?" asked Uncle Chuck.  
"I don't know. He might have, I've seen quite a few signs of it. But I won't know for sure unless I give him training, and Amy won't let me. She thinks that because the world has been at peace for so long, there's no need to know how to fight. She says he should focus on school instead."  
"Haha! So that tomboy Amy turned out to be a real school-mom, eh?"  
Before he could reply though, Sonic sensed a massive amount of energy heading their way.  
"Everyone, get back. Something big is headed this way."  
Everyone looked up to try and see what it was, but to no avail.

_This is insane. No way this is Knuckles I'm sensing. It almost feels, familiar. But foreign at the same time._

The being finally reached the island; it was a green hedgehog. It spoke, it's voice betraying the evil within. "Ah, yes. There is no doubt you are who I am looking for. You look just like your father."  
"Do you know this guy Sonic?" asked Rouge.  
"No."  
"Kakarott! What have you been doing all these years? Why haven't you finished your mission? Surely you have had more than enough time."  
"What are you talking about?"  
Sonic was perplexed, but Espio piped in with his calm, monotone voice. "Look... we don't know who you are, and you are obviously either confused or drunk." said Espio, walking up to the intruder. "So how about you-" that was all he got to say before the green hedgehog had thrown him into the side of the house with his tail.  
"Espio!" yelled Sonic.  
"He has a huge tail! Just like Sonic had!" said Rouge, noticing it after the hedgehog had used it to slam Espio into the house.  
Sonic looked, horrified, at the tail.

_So my senses weren't wrong. This jerk is related to me somehow._


	2. Sonic's Past

_Notes: While I am following DBZKai's story line, I am constantly referring to the manga for an alternate view of things. My process of choosing what goes into the story is looking at both manga and show, and choosing what pieces I like best from both. If I like neither's content for a particular area, I'll come up with something original. I'll also be adding extra scenes here and there, as already seen in chapter 1. This is usually done to expand on character development that was sorely lacking in the show/manga(not referring to the original DBZ, never seen the filler episodes)._

___**...**_

**Episode #2**  
**"Sonic's Past"**

**...  
**

"Espio!" Sonic ran over to his injured friend. "You alright?"  
"I think so." Sonic grabbed his hand and helped him up. Sonic turned to the green hedgehog.  
"Who are you, anyway?"  
"You really don't remember, do you? Fine. I, am Scourge. I am a member of the once mighty Saiyan race, and so are you."  
Sonic raised an eyebrow.  
"I'll skip the details and get right to the point: you aren't native to Earth. You were born on a planet called Doom, once home to the saiyan race."  
Everyone gasped except Sonic, who started chuckling.  
"What's so funny?" asked Scourge.  
"Planet Doom? Who named the planet, a five-year old?"  
"No! It was named after our king!"  
Sonic began to stop chuckling.  
"So your king is named 'Doom'?"  
"No! His name was Black Doom!"  
"That's not much bett-"  
"We're getting off-topic! The point is that you were supposed to kill every intelligent thing on this planet!"  
Sonic's expression suddenly became serious.  
"Why would I do that?"  
"Because while we Saiyans are strong warriors, we are also businessmen. We search for planets with habitable environments and send warriors to exterminate the natives so we can sell the planet to the highest bidding species. For the planets with strong natives, we send adults. But for planets full of weaklings, such as this one, we send our infants."  
"That's, that's sick!" exclaimed Sonic. "Taking innocent lives for profit!" Sonic's anger began to rise. Scourge continued talking, ignoring Sonic's reactions.  
"Unfortunately, eighteen years ago a comet collided with planet Doom, killing everyone there. That includes our parents Kakarott."  
"Our parents? You've got to be-"  
"I'm your older brother, Kakarott."  
Sonic felt like he might throw up. Scourge continued.  
"Two other Saiyans survived because they were out on assignment like me, and we recently found a planet that would fetch a fine price. The natives are tough though, and we need all the help we can get. That's where you come in." Scourge looked to Sonic for an answer.  
"You are no brother of mine. I will never help you."  
Tails ran up to Sonic, hugging his leg.  
"I'm scared Daddy."  
"Kakarott! Is that your brat?"  
"Brat? Wha-" A look of realization crossed Sonic's face. "No, no he's not!"  
"Fool. I can see his tails. He is of Saiyan blood, and his mutation is probably a result of you breeding with this planet's inferior species." Scourge began walking towards Sonic.  
"Inferior! You-"  
Sonic didn't even see Scourge's punch. He was sent flying into the ground twenty feet away. Tails began to run towards him, but Scourge grabbed his tails and pulled him into the air.  
"Daddy! Help!" Tails began to cry.  
"Tails..." Sonic groaned in pain, clutching his gut.  
"Don't worry, I won't hurt my nephew unless I need to."  
"No!" Espio yelled as he hit Scourge in the head with a punch, doing no visible damage. "You fool!" Scourge yelled as he knocked Espio back into the house with his tail again.  
"Well, I'll have to test your abilities to make sure you don't chicken out on me, brother. You've obviously gone soft in your time here."  
Sonic still hadn't gotten up. Scourge chuckled, having thought up of a worthy test.  
"I know, kill off one-hundred Earthlings by this time tomorrow. It will be easy. Just start here on this island!"  
"What?" Chuck exclaimed.  
"I'll be back tomorrow! And remember, if you don't do it, you'll never see your son again!" Scourge then took off and flew out of sight.  
"Tails!" Sonic cried out in vain for his son.  
"Calm down Sonic!" said Uncle Chuck. But Sonic began to get up, wincing with pain.  
"I'll get him... I can't... lose Tails." "Sonic! Going after him now would be suicide! He's too strong! And you're hurt!" said Rouge.  
Espio then emerged from the house.  
"Espio! Are you alright?" asked Chuck.  
"I'm fine."  
But Espio and Chuck paled when they heard a deep, gruff voice from behind them.  
"Well, what do we have here?"  
They all turned to the voice except for Sonic, who already knew who it was. Chuck's initial shock of seeing Sonic's greatest enemy had worn off. He walked right up to him.  
"And to what do we owe this intrusion, Knuckles?" asked Uncle Chuck.  
"Oh, am i interrupting something? I meant no disrespect Sir Charles," Knuckles said dryly.  
"What do you want?"  
"Something that is of interest to both me and Sonic. Scourge must be stopped. He'll end up interrupting my plans for world domination."  
"Selfish as always-"  
"You're pushing it, Sir Charles."  
"So just what are you proposing?" asked Sonic, who still had his back turned. Knuckles smirked, knowing no one would like the answer.  
"That we team up."  
Sonic got up and scowled at Knuckles.  
"Just once. To save my son."  
"And my pla-"  
"My son's life is on the line and all you can think is yourself!"  
"Well, that's kinda my thing! I wouldn't be planning to takeover the world if I wasn't selfish."  
It took every ounce of willpower Sonic had to not blast Knuckles off the island.  
"Let's just get it over with."  
"Fine."  
"Rouge! We'll need the emerald-radar!"

_**...**_

"Shut up, brat!" Scourge tossed Tails into his space pod. He had cried the entire trip here, and for the four hours since.  
"Okay, now let's see if Kakarott is following orders." Scourge clicked the device on his head. It beeped. "Energy level thirteen hundred? Coming from: my pod?" Scourge scoffed. "Blasted thing is on the fritz again. I should have brought a next-gen scouter." He tapped it again.  
"Now there are two power levels! And they're headed this way. One of them matches Kakarott's. No; he wouldn't risk-" At that moment, both Sonic and Knuckles landed in front of Scourge.  
"How did you find me?"  
"That doesn't matter."  
Scourge let his frustration show.  
"I suppose not. I'll assume you've declined my offer."  
"You assume correctly."  
"Fine."  
Scourge dropped into a fighting stance.  
"You're a disgrace to the Saiyan race."  
"I don't care."  
Sonic could practically feel Scourge's anger coming off in waves, directed at him.  
"Then die."


	3. Dawn of a New Threat

**Episode #3**  
**"Dawn of a New Threat"**

**...  
**

Sonic and Knuckles dropped into their fighting stances and waited for Scourge to make the first move.  
Sonic blinked and Scourge was gone.  
"Behind you Sonic!"  
Sonic was then kicked in the back of the head by Scourge, who fired a chaos energy blast at Knuckles as soon as he had finished the kick. Knuckles deflected the blast with his hand, sending it into a nearby mountain. Meanwhile, Sonic had gotten back to his feet and was running at Scourge. He swung at where Scourge used to be and ended up getting kicked in the back of the head again. He fell face first into the ground, the taste of blood in his mouth. Knuckles rushed in and faked a punch to Scourge's gut and swung hard at his face. But Scourge swatted Knuckle's hand away like it was a fly, and kneed him in the stomach. He punched a temporarily stunned Knuckles in the side of his head, sending him sliding across the landscape. But Scourge was knocked to the ground by a punch to the back of his head from Sonic. He used this to his advantage and kicked his feet up at Sonic from the ground, only to find out Sonic was in midair above him.  
"Ka..." Sonic chanted as he formed a ball with his hands. "Me... Ha..." A small ball of energy formed inside of them.  
"Me... HA!" A blue energy beam fired from Sonic's hands. Scourge got out of it's way, only to find out Sonic could change it's direction at will. "Fine! Let's have it!" Scourge stopped and held out his hands as the blast hit him. A cloud of dust and smoke erupted from where the blast had hit. The smell of smoke was prominent now. Knuckles walked back over to Sonic as he landed. "You hit him?"  
Sonic nodded, still breathing heavily. But Sonic sensed a flare of chaos energy somewhere above him. He looked up to see Scourge with his arms outstretched and open palms facing both Sonic and Knuckles.  
Sonic was shocked.  
"How did you-" Sonic was cut off when Scourge fired energy blasts out of each hand. Sonic swiftly dodged the blast aimed at him, but when he turned around he saw that Knuckles hadn't been quick enough. His arm had gotten caught in the blast, and sliced clean off from the shoulder down. Purple blood poured out of the wound. Sonic ran over to Knuckles. "You okay? Can you-" Sonic was once again cut off by Scourge, who had kicked him up into the air. Scourge clasped his fists together and slammed them into Sonic's chest, sending him careening back down to Earth. Just as Sonic was about to hit the ground, Scourge appeared below him, ready to kick him in the back. But he was suddenly punched in the side by Knuckles, then kicked in the face while trying to recover from the punch. He fell to the ground at the same time Sonic did. Knuckles grabbed Scouge by the neck and lifted him off the ground, choking him. Scourge didn't look hurt at all. Scourge sent a burst of chaos energy outward from him, pushing Knuckles away. Scourge got up quite calmly, brushing some dirt off his shoulder.  
"Good job. You are both much more powerful than I thought you were." Scourge pushed a button on his scouter. "Your energy readings have gone up to seven-oh nine and seven twenty-two for my brother. You both appear to be able to alter your energy level at will. How strange."  
Knuckles looked over to Sonic, who was getting up. Sonic nodded to Knuckles, who turned back to Scourge. "Well, we have all day to waste. Feel like bragging some more?" Knuckles said with a wry smile.  
"No. I'm done." Scourge jumped towards Knuckles, but suddenly collapsed to the ground. Sonic had snuck around behind him and grabbed his tail.  
"How... did you know-"  
"That your tail was a weak spot?" Sonic said as he tightened his grip, making Scourge stop moving.  
"Before my own tail was cut off, I realized it was a weak point. So I trained it to... well, not be weak. Apparently, you haven't."  
"Just keep him there Sonic. I'll finish him with this attack. It's the only thing I think is strong enough to kill him."  
"Then fire it up!"  
"It takes a few minutes to charge, so hold on." Knuckles raised his index and middle fingers on the arm that he still had to his forehead. Scourge realized he was in danger, and started to panic.  
"Brother! Please! Spare me!"  
"Don't listen to him Sonic. He'll kill us both if you let go!"  
"I'm your brother! Your own flesh and blood! You can't do this! Everyone deserves a second chance, right?"  
This comment got through to Sonic, who loosened his grip slightly. "Well-"  
"Sonic! He's playing you!"  
But Sonic looked back down at Scourge.  
"Do you promise to leave Earth immediately? And never return?"  
"Yes! I will do this! I have seen the error of my ways! I will never return!"  
"Sonic! Don't do it!"  
Sonic let go of Scourge's tail. Scourge got up and elbowed Sonic in the face. Scourge and Knuckles simontaniously yelled, "You idiot!"  
Knuckles released the blast from his fingertips, missing Scourge, who dodged it. It leveled another nearby mountain. Scourge rushed up to Knuckles and floored him with one punch. Scourge then walked over to Sonic. He grabbed him by the neck and picked him up. "A Saiyan never... shows... mercy!" Scourge was squeezing Sonic's throat harder with every word. Sonic screamed in agony as Scourge tossed him into the air, where Scourge jumped up to and began firing tiny energy blasts designed to burn and torture Sonic. With every hit, Sonic's screams of pain became louder and louder. Suddenly, there was a loud bang. In a crater about fifty feet away, in Scourge's space pod, Tails had seen the entire thing. He burst out of the pod, jumping up into the air to the same height as Scourge. Scourge's scouter beeped in alarm.  
"Energy level one thousand and five!"  
Scourge dropped Sonic, in shock. Tails glared at Scourge, on the verge of tears.  
"Stop... hurting... my... daddy!" Tails slammed into Scourge head-on. Scourge was blasted into the ground, while Tails landed perfectly.  
Scourge got up and coughed up some blood, while Tails rushed over to Sonic.  
"Daddy? Wake up!" Tails shook Sonic, but he didn't stir. Scourge then clicked his scouter.  
"His energy level has dropped down to one?" Scourge kicked Tails, sending him flying away, landing twenty yards from Scourge. He was knocked unconscious. "To think that this brat was the first being to ever hurt me in battle-"  
Scourge was suddenly grabbed from behind by Sonic. Sonic stuck his arms under Scourge's and turned them up. "What are you-"  
"Do it now! Knuckles! Do the attack!"  
Knuckles had just finished recovering from Scourge's punch.  
He raised his fingers to his forehead again and began charging up. Scourge began panicking again. "Are you insane? The blast will hit you too!"  
"I don't care!"  
"No! You can't!"  
Scourge began to panic again. "You can't do this! Think about your son!"  
"I am."  
Scourge's eyes widened, and he began to try and shake off Sonic. But Sonic was unshakable. "I'm your brother! You can't do this!"  
"You are no brother of mine!"  
Scourge could barely move under Sonic's grip, so he continued to try and persuade Sonic to let go, but Sonic had learned his lesson.  
"Kakarott! Everyone deserves a second chance, right?"  
"That's right. And you wasted yours!"  
"No... No!"  
Knuckles pointed his fingers at them both. "Are you ready?"  
"Just do it!"  
Knuckles released all the pent up energy in his finger tips, which turned into a beam of destruction headed straight towards Scourge.  
"Noooooooooo-agh!" Scourge was silenced as the beam entered his torso, exiting through Sonic's back. Both of them were launched into the air, and landed ten feet away from each other. Blood pooled out of their wounds, staining the grassy field. Knuckles still had his finger outstretched, in shock of what had just occurred. His lifelong enemy, Sonic, was dying right in front of him, but instead of feeling happy and excited, he felt... disappointed. Maybe because he had wanted the circumstances surrounding Sonic's death to be less about Scourge. Or maybe simply because he would miss having a rival. Someone to try and surpass. Then he remembered the Chaos Emeralds.  
"I... I..." Scourge was trying to speak. Knuckles walked over to him.  
"I didn't think... he would actually-"  
"You were a fool to think he wouldn't. And a fool to not leave when you had the chance."  
"I... will be avenged... my scouter... has transmitted everything that occurred today to my two fellow surviving Saiyans. They're only a year's trip away. They will-"  
Knuckles ended his gloating with a small energy blast through his head. Scourge fell limp. He walked over to Sonic. He was almost dead, but still conscious. Knuckles heard the sound of helicopter blades. A small heli-transport landed about fifty feet away from him and Sonic. The first one out of it was Rouge, then Espio, and finally Uncle Chuck. Rouge rushed over to Tails, checking his pulse and all.  
"He's okay!" she squealed.  
"But what about Sonic?" inquired Chuck.  
"Dying." stated Knuckles.  
The three friends looked over to Sonic, and their faces fell all at once. He had a gaping hole going through his body, and he had lost a ton of blood from it.  
"Sonic..." Espio whispered to himself. Suddenly, Sonic stirred.  
"Sonic!" exclaimed Rouge.  
"Is... Tails..."  
"He's fine." said Chuck.  
"Good... Amy would have killed me... If anything would have happened to him... but she's gonna be a little... too late."  
None of them managed to smile at the joke with Sonic dying right in front of them.  
"Don't worry... just use... the Chaos Emeralds to wish me back."  
"We will." said Espio.  
"Until then... take care." Sonic then became motionless. "Sonic..." Rouge burst into tears. Knuckles suddenly began crying out as if in pain, startling everyone. The three looked towards him to see his decapitated arm outstretched, and in an instant, a new arm replaced it. Rouge almost threw up.  
"That was disgusting."  
Knuckles said nothing, walking over to Tails. He grabbed the unconscious child. Everyone jumped, ready to fight him for Tails.  
"I'm taking the child. The saiyans will no doubt be here in a year to avenge Scourge, and the boy could be useful if trained."  
"The two saiyans Scourge talked about are coming here?" asked Espio.  
"That's what he said."  
Chuck stepped forward.  
"But that doesn't give you the right to just take the child!"  
"And what could you do to stop me Sir Charles? Or your chameleon friend?"  
Chuck and Espio realized they wouldn't stand a chance against Knuckles, even in this weakened state. So they backed off.  
"We'll be back in a year." Knuckles leaped into the air and took flight towards the mountains.  
"Looks like we've got a long year ahead of us." said Espio.  
Rouge got up and walked over to them.  
"I guess I'll go do some treasure hunting until then."  
"You're gonna fight?" asked Espio.  
"Of course not. But I'll be there for sure. I don't want to miss the action."  
As Rouge walked back to the heli-transport to start it up, Chuck turned to Espio. "The year-long training session begins today. Let us hope we'll be ready."

_**...**_

"So Scourge got himself killed. And by those weaklings."  
Two hedgehog-like beings sat around a campfire, with hundreds of alien bodies surrounding them.  
"Shadow, the Chaos Emeralds Kakarott talked about, I bet we could use them to bring back Scourge!"  
"And waste a wish on that weakling? No. I'm thinking bigger, much bigger. You head back to Lord Metal's base on A-23. Don't let them know of my destination."  
"Of course, Prince Shadow."

As Shadow watched the ship take off, he walked towards his own ship. Kakarott had gotten lucky in that fight. But now he would have to fight a true Saiyan elite.

Earth's luck had just run out.


	4. A Stern Taskmaster

**Episode #4**

**"A Stern Taskmaster"**

Knuckles was flying over a rocky area when he spotted what he was looking for; a small clearing in the rocks. He dropped down and landed in a shallow pond holding Tails by the scruff of his neck. He then dropped Tails into the freezing water, and Tails landed face first. Tails' head shot up, soaking wet, then he sat up. He rubbed his eyes and shook his head like a dog to dry it, then took a good look around. When his eyes focused on Knuckles, his look showed confusion instead of the fear Knuckles was expecting. "Where's my daddy?" He asked as he got out of the pond and looked around, becoming panicked. "Daddy?" Tails yelled as he began to cry. Knuckles reached down and grabbed Tails by the scruff of his neck again. "Shut up, or you're dead!"

Tails became quiet instantly.

"Your father is dead! He sacrificed himself to kill the man who kidnapped you." When Knuckles said this, Tails began crying again. "Don't start that again! Now, Sonic told you about the Chaos Emeralds right?" Tails nodded, still sniffing.

"Good. Now his friends are sure to use those to bring your father back to life, so his death isn't a problem. The problem is that there are two warriors more powerful your father and, more importantly, stronger than me.

They are on their way to Earth. If we are to beat them, we'll need you." Knuckles said the last part with disgust. Admitting that this child might be more powerful than him made him sick, and even more so when he realized he would be training him. But Knuckles knew it was neccessary. Tails, however, didn't. "What? I can't-I can't fight!"

"Of course you can! There's no denying you are powerful, you just have to learn how to use that power. Which is why I'm training you. Sonic wouldn't have the guts to do what is needed to train you."

Knuckles dropped Tails onto the rocky ground.

"You're lying. I'm not-" But Tails was cut off when Knuckles grabbed his head and picked him up.

"Want me to prove it?" Knuckles threw Tails as hard as he could towards a large rock formation. Knuckles could hear Tails screams of terror as he soared towards his death.

"Come on..." Knuckles waited for Tails to do something, but he was getting dangerously close to the rock now. Knuckles wouldn't be able to save him if Tails didn't do something. Suddenly, Tails righted himself and fired a massive energy blast at the rock. It not only destroyed the rock, but left a path of destruction more than a mile long past it. Tails then gracefully lowered himself to the ground. When he landed, he appeared to come out of a trance, reverting from the strong warrior he was for a few seconds back to the helpless child he was. Knuckles rushed over to him.

"So," Knuckles was still shocked at what Tails had done. "Do you believe me now?"

Tails looked back at the destruction, then nodded.

"Good. Then we'll begin your training in six months. Until then, you will survive out in this wasteland on your own. If you can't do that, then your not worthy of my training."

Tails immediately started to bawl and state reasons as to why he couldn't do that.

"I have no food! I-I have no bed, no TV! Where's the bathroom?"

Knuckles face hardened.

_I can't believe how spoiled this brat is._

"You'll find the food yourself, your bed will be in trees and caves, there is NO TV out here, and you can relieve yourself anywhere you like. That answer your questions?"

Tails was still crying his eyes out, but he nodded through the tears, accepting that there was no way out of this.

"But you won't really leave me, will you?"

Tails question was one Knuckles wasn't expecting to hear.

_Why would he ask that? Does he not fear me? Surely Sonic told him about me. Or maybe... I'm just not what I used to be. Why would he come to a monster like me for comfort?_

_He wouldn't. Shouldn't._

_This is the first time anyone has ever looked at me and not run away, screamed in terror, or cowered! This child is... naive._

_In one year, he won't be._

Knuckles had been in thought for about half a minute now, and Tails had stopped crying. He was just stared at Knuckles now, waiting for an answer.

"Sorry, kid. But that would be against the rules. If you're about to die, I won't do anything to save you." Tails held back more tears, then fell back into a sitting position in the dirt.

"Okay Mister Knuckles."

_Mister? Where did that come from?_

"...It's... Knuckles, kid. Knuckles. Don't call me mister."

_I can't believe this kid._

_We'll see what he thinks of me in six months. I doubt he'll be of the same opinion that he has now._

Without any warning, Knuckles took off, leaving Tails. Once he was gone, Tails actually realized what it was like to be alone, with no one to care for him or put him to sleep. He had no warm bed, no prepared food and no blanket. Shivering in the cold as the sun set on the horizon, Tails began to cry. He laid down on a patch of grass and cried himself to sleep.


	5. The Skies Darken

_Notes: Funny how much you change in just 9 months. After going back and reading the first three chapters of this story, I couldn't believe I had written it. I hated it. So along with this chapter comes the revised versions of chapters 1 and 2[3 is coming soon], with 90% less usage of the word "then!"_

_I also changed the name of the Dragon Emeralds to the Chaos Emeralds, as I am replacing the Dragonball stuff with Sonic stuff. I didn't call Sonic "Gokic," so I won't call the Chaos Emeralds "Dragon Emeralds."_

_Finally, I wrote the nextfour chapters(including this one) within two weeks. I love it when I decide to not be lazy. Anyway, I've made you read too many notes. So, uh, go read the actual story now. It's down there. Just scroll down. What? Your mouse doesn't have a middle button for scrolling? What is this, the 90s? _

_Sorry. Just read._

**...**_  
_

**Episode #5**  
**"The Skies Darken"**

**...  
**

The Lookout. A glistening, holy place floating high above the clouds. Earth's watchman, Locke, could watch all happenings on the surface from here. He stood on the edge of the platform as the sunset painted all kinds of beautiful pinks and oranges across the sky. Locke however, did not notice. He was in deep thought. His eyes closed, he could smell Big's garden from here. He could hear the birds chirping as they flew by. But it was not what he heard, nor smelled, that was troubling him this evening. It was what he had seen.

The saiyan. The death. Knuckles, taking Tails to train him. Knuckles would never have done that.

_Unless; he had the same premonition I had._

He heard the long, soft footsteps of his long-time friend and servant, Big the Cat, approaching.

"Something wrong, sire?"  
Locke opened his eyes and slowly rose to stand.  
"Knuckles has begun training Sonic's son."  
Big was surprised, but also suspicious.  
"But why would he do that?"  
Locke looked at his friend with old, sad eyes that made Big worry.  
"Because he wants to pass down some form of his legacy before his death."  
"Death?"  
Locke paused, knowing his friend would be anguished to hear what might be next for him.  
"Knuckles has realized that he only has one year pass his teaching on to someone else. For when one of us dies, the other must as well. And Knuckles knows that in one year, we will both die."

_**...**_

The sun fell below the horizon as Knuckles sat in mid-air, watching Tails struggle to get an apple off a tree. The kitsune has stopped trying to jump for it and was now trying to climb the trunk of the tree; to no avail. All this time he never noticed the lion prowling around behind him. Knuckles sensed no harmful intentions from the lion, but Tails couldn't, so when he heard a low growl and turned to see what it was he freaked out. He backed up against the tree and started screaming, which drove the lion away. Tails backed off the tree and took a good look around with fearful eyes. He then looked up, noticing the full moon. Tails then suddenly fell into the grass face-first. Alarmed, Knuckles rushed to him and checked his pulse. It was fast. Not only that, but Tails was changing. A dark aura surrounded him as his fur darkened to a fiery orange. As Tails opened his eyes Knuckles noticed the pupils had disappeared. Tails then stood up, and punched Knuckles in the face, sending him soaring across the landscape into a rock. When Knuckles got up, Tails was destroying everything in sight with energy blasts. His power had seemingly tripled.

_What is this? How is he doing this? Wait-the moon! He looked at the moon and began the transformation!_

Knuckles flew up into the sky and gathered what strength he had, and fired a small, quick energy blast at the moon that was designed to destroy it quickly. However, "quickly" would be about five minutes. And Tails wasn't waiting. The landscape was dotted with several craters now.

_Wait. Where is Tails?_

Knuckles felt Tails behind him at the same moment that Tails kicked Knuckles in the head. Knuckles fell into the shallow pond where he had originally dropped Tails in when they first came here. He got up, covered in mud and soaked in water. Tails was standing on the edge of the pond, expressionless. Then he was gone.

_Crap! He's quick. Where are you? There!  
_  
Knuckles turned to his right and raised his arm just in time to block a punch. Tail unleashed a fury of kicks and punched at him, but there was no finesse, no skill in them. He dodged them easily and delivered a kick to Tails' side, followed by a knockout punch to the head. Tails staggered backwards, falling flat on the ground. He lost his fiery orange fur and dark aura. Knuckles looked up. The moon was still there.

_I hate saiyans. Hopefully destroying the moon will prevent the two on their way here from using it to their advantage. As for Tails, if his enlarged tails are a weakness..._

Knuckles reached for the kitsune's tails and ripped them out with one tug. Two regular fox tails took their place within seconds.

_No weakness. And now we may catch the saiyans by surprise when they find out that there is no moon.  
_  
Knuckles then flew to the apple tree and grabbed a few apples. He then dropped them by Tails' side.

_Enjoy that, kid. I won't do it again._

___**...**_

Amy Rose stood in Uncle Chuck's house, her anger was dominating the room. Espio, Chuck, and Rouge all sat around her. When they had sent Espio to tell her what had happened, they had expected her to be sad that Goku was dead. But the whole time since all she could talk about was Tails.  
"How could you let that monster take him? Do you not even care?" She continued to rant as she paced the living room, carrying her old Piko Piko Hammer in her right hand. Chuck stood up.  
"Amy, calm down; Tails will be back in a year-"  
"I want him back NOW!" Amy raised her hammer, causing Chuck to cower, but she didn't swing. She gently lowered it to the ground, then turned and walked out. They heard the sound of her hover-car starting up and flying away. Chuck sat back down, shaken.  
"That went badly."  
Rouge turned to him.  
"You think so?"  
Rouge pulled out a small, round device that looked like a small clock, tossing it to Espio. Espio caught it, then walked outside and flew away.  
"Hopefully with that Emerald Radar of yours he'll find the other 6 before the saiyans arrive. Rouge gave him a smug look.  
"I'd be surprised if he hasn't found them all within a week."  
"Well, it won't matter so long as he finds them before the saiyans arrive. Sonic contacted me via telepathy through an old martial arts master. He is training with him right now. Sonic asked me not to bring him back to life until he was finished. Say, did you ever get that device the saiyan was wearing to work again?"  
"Sure did. Looks like it is used to track people all over the world, even tells you how powerful they are."  
"So we could use it to track down Vector, Charmy and Omega and enlist their help! Hand it to me."  
Rouge tossed it to him, then rose from her seat and walked out. The freedom fighters were about to reunite.

_**...**_

Two Months Later

Tails awoke to warm light spilling into his cave. He jumped up from his bed of leaves and grabbed his handmade basket of sticks. Walking out into the grassy field dotted with rock formations, he set off towards a group of trees. However, halfway there a wild boar crossed his path. Tails set the basket down as the boar charged at him. He jumped several feet into the air letting the boar pass harmlessly underneath him. He turned and took a quick look around. On the ground a few feet away was a small rock. As Tails ran towards it the boar charged again. Tails picked it up as the boar came within a few feet of him. He turned on his heel and hurled the rock at boar. It hit the boar squarely on the head, and it stinker and fell, sliding right to Tails' feet. He then went on his way as though nothing had happening. Little dis Tails know that Knuckles was watching him from the sky.  
_  
No fear, no whining, just action. The wild has hardened him quite a bit. Maybe I should start the training early, perhaps in a month._

He continued to watch as Tails jumped for some apples on a tree, and when he couldn't reach them he punched the trunk of the tree, sending most of the apples to the ground. Knuckles had observed that Tails did that same exact thing each and every day, only each day he got closer and closer to reaching the apples by jumping up to them.

_He's training himself by drilling several different routines every day. Smart kid. He'll be easy to teach._

Chuck sat in his living room with the seven Chaos Emeralds in front of him on the floor. Once again they would be used to revive a fallen friend.

_But how many times must we do this before the dying stops? We take these emeralds for granted. We take life for granted. What will happen when the Emeralds are gone for good?_

_Sonic, you better be finished with that training by the time those saiyans get here, or our only hope is Knuckles._

Chuck shuddered at the thought.

**Two Months Later**

"Faster, Tails! Faster!"  
Tails and Knuckles were in one of their heated duels, on the edge of a cliff.  
"It's like you're moving in slow motion! Move it Tails!"  
Knuckles had given Tails quite a beating in the last few hours to add to the many bruises, cuts, and scars he had accumulated over the past month. And Tails was so tired he couldn't dodge any of Knuckles' attacks. So Knuckles continued to beat him up. He jumped over a weak kick from Knuckles only to get punched in the gut and sent flying off the cliff. One thirty foot drop later, Tails was lying in sand, in immense pain. He pulled his head up and looked back at the top of the cliff, were Knuckles was looked down at him with disgust.  
"That's what you get for leaving yourself open like that!"  
Tails pulled himself to his feet and put his hands on the rock face. He looked up at the high cliff face and began his climb. Had had gotten about twenty feet up when the rock he was using to support his right foot came out from under him. He lost his balance and fell all the way to the bottom. He was now bleeding badly from the combination of Knuckles' beatings and his two falls. He could barely keep himself up, and his vision was failing him. He dropped to the ground, on the verge of tears.

_"First rule of fighting: No crying!"_

Remembering Knuckles' words, he willed himself start climbing again, half-blind and losing consciousness. Thirty minutes later he finally reached the summit. He collapsed and gave into sleep.

_It was his first day of training._

_"Why would you run away from me?"_  
_"You're gonna beat me up."_  
_"Am I scary? Hmm? Don't want to hit me because you're afraid it's a waste of time? Second rule of fighting: Never give up even when the odds are against you! If you ever chicken out again, I'll beat your fear out of you!"_

_Tails was holding a fifty pound boulder above his head with both hands._  
_"Knuckles! I've been doing this for hours! W-when can I st-stop!"_  
_"When the sun sets._  
_"But that's hours away!"_  
_"Are you whining about it? Are you going to cry?"_  
_"N-no sir!"_

_Now Tails was trying to fly._  
_"Cmon! Use the chaos energy to propel you upward!"_  
_"I can't!"_  
_Knuckles slapped him._  
_"What was that?"_  
_"Nothing sir."_

_Tails was falling off the edge of a cliff, then pain. Searing pain. But he couldn't show weakness._  
_Knuckles looked over the edge, shouting, "Tails! Wake up! Wake up!"_

"Wake up!"  
Tails awoke with a start. Knuckles was standing over him. A campfire was roaring behind him. Tails looked back to see the sun had slid past the horizon while he had been unconscious.  
"You want some food or not?"  
Knuckles didn't seem to care that Tails had been nearly killed. He casually impaled two rabbits onto a stick and propped them over the fire. Tails gingerly got to his feet and limped to the fire, every step causing a new wave of pain to wash over him. As he sat back down he held in a cry of pain as his leg popped.  
"That didn't sound very good. I didn't beat you up too badly, did I?"  
Tails looked up, surprised that Knuckles had even registered his pain. He usually acted like Tails was immune to pain.  
"No, it didn't hurt that bad."  
"Don't lie like that. If you lied to a superior on the field of battle about an injury like that and he sent you back out thinking you were fine, you'd be killed."  
"Sorry Knuckles."  
"And stop apologizing about everything. Makes you sound weak."  
"Sorr-I mean, okay."  
Knuckled pulled the hares off the fire and tossed one to Tails, the skin still on it. He never did everything for Tails, always having him fend for himself in some way. So Tails began to skin his rabbit, which he had done many times before.  
After eating, Tails laid down on the cool grass and fell asleep as Knuckles rose to go train by himself. Tails had never seen Knuckles sleep, but had never asked him why. He thought about getting up and doing just that, but he was so tired, he just laid there staring at the stars until he fell asleep.

**Seven Months Later**

_"Good morning, Station Square! Today's forecast calls for nothing but sun! No chance of rain and it's a wonderful seventy-two degrees. People are already outside enjoying this fantastic weekend weather. Now-wait. I'm getting word that there is breaking news from town square, where an alien spaceship has just touched down. Now we take you to the scene."_

Shadow stepped from his sleeper pod and stepped out to find hundreds of people crowded around police tape about twenty feet away in all directions. Ten men with rifles aimed at him looked at him with a mixture of fear and curiosity.

_This aught to get Kakarott's attention._

"What is it?"  
"Looks like a hedgehog!"  
"Why is the tail so big?"

A decorated officer trotted up to him, gazing warily at him.  
"What is your purpose here, alien?"  
Shadow smirked, then walked past him.  
"Kakarott! I know you are here! I know you are watching! If you don't meet me on the outskirts of this place in one hour, the Earth will be destroyed!"  
With that, some of the crowd panicked an ran away, and some started to laugh at Shadow. The officer turned to his soldiers and shouted, "Fire!"  
As they all pulled the trigger, Shadow raised his hand to the sky, and Station Square was enveloped in a bright light. The screams of millions were instantly silenced.

_**...**_

Tail and Knuckles felt the rise in chaos energy at the same moment that Chuck and the Freedom Fighters did. Alarmed and not expecting the saiyans for another month, they rushed towards Station Square.

_**...**_

"Come forth Master of Chaos and grant our wish!"  
Chuck and Rouge held their breath as the Chaos Emeralds began to glow, then float into the air. They formed a circle in midair, and in the circle appeared a young girl with orange skin that was the same species as Knuckles. Speaking telepathically, she asked, "What is thy wish?"  
"I wish that Sonic Hedgehog were returned to life!"  
"Your wish is granted."  
And then she was gone. The Chaos Emeralds turned gray and lost their glow, then soared away in all directions. Chuck turned to Rouge.  
"Tell the Freedom Fighters to get down here now. Their training is over."

_**...**_

"There's nothing left." Knuckles was in disbelief. The saiyans had destroyed this entire city in a single instant. Was there no limit to their power?  
"Knuckles, over there!" Tails was pointing to a cluster of media vans and equipment.  
They flew over them, much to the surprise of the media, and landed in the rocky field they had their cameras trained on. There, in the field, was a black and crimson hedgehog.  
_  
No, not a hedgehog. A saiyan._

Knuckles stepped forward.  
"Where is the other saiyan? I thought there were two of you!"  
"I decided I could handle this one on my own. Besides, I could ask you the same thing. Where is Kakarott?"  
"Kakarott? You mean Sonic? He's on his way."  
"Well then; I guess I'll have some fun with you while we're waiting."

"Hey, who's that with the saiyan?" Espio turned his head at Vector's comment, noticing Knuckles down there.  
"That'll be Knuckles and Tails."  
They flew down to the field and landed next to Knuckles and Tails. Knuckles nodded at them all. Omega, Vector, Charmy and Espio. Espio took a good look at Tails, who had changed quite a bit. He had grown a few inches, and had a weary look in his eye. A look a five year old shouldn't have, he thought. Tails noticed him staring and gave him an odd look, then turned back to the saiyan. The saiyan nodded and said, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Prince Shadow of the saiyan race, and I will be the end of all of you. Let's begin."

_**...**_

Sonic looked around the lookout, nodding at Locke and Big, then took off.

_I'm coming guys. I just hope I'm not too late._


	6. Earth's Only Defense: Part 1

**Episode #6  
"Earth's Only Defense: Part 1/3"**

**"The Prince"**

**...  
**

"Who's first?"  
Tails took a step forward, but Knuckles squeezed his shoulder. When Tails looked back at him, Knuckles slowly shook his head.

_Not yet._

Tails stepped back into line.  
Omega stepped forward and in his electronic voice said, "I will fight first."  
Shadow chuckled.  
"I have no interest in fighting a pile of scrap. Back away."  
But Omega stayed where he was.  
"Back in line, machine. Or I'll destroy you."  
Omega took the challenge, not moving at all. Everyone else backed away to a safe spot.  
"Fine."  
Shadow pulled his right hand back as though he was throwing something, and a small red ball of energy appeared in his palm. He threw it at Omega, the smug look on his face suggesting he expected there to be nothing left of Omega, but the robot was already above him, transforming his hands into machine guns and firing at Shadow. As the energy ball exploded in front of them, Shadow held his hand up in front of his face and formed a chaos shield as he stumbled backwards, caught off-guard. Omega took advantage of this and rushed towards the ground, still firing his weapons. He landed behind Shadow and swung and him, connecting to his side. Shadow jumped away in shock.  
"I guess I underestimated you. I won't do that with the others."  
Omega had taken advantage of his pause to talk and was behind him again, but just as his punch reached the back of Shadow's head, Shadow quickly turned and ducked. As Omega's punch went over his head, Shadow's pinch entered Omega's torso. Omega froze. Shadow created an energy ball inside of Omega, then stepped away and detonated it. As pieces of Omega began to fall around everyone, Shadow cooly stated, "So; who's next?"  
As Espio stepped forward, Knuckles looked at Tails and noticed he was now shaking. He conked him on the back of the head and gave him a look. Tails stopped shaking, but Knuckles could still see the fear in his eyes. They both turned their attention back to Espio.  
Shadow laughed at Espio as he stepped forward.  
"This is just unfair. I should be fighting three of you at once!"  
Shadow's gloating was cut short when Espio disappeared before his eyes.  
"What the-"  
Shadow fell forward as though he had been kicked in the back.  
"He's camouflaged!"  
Shadow was launched up into the air from a hit to his chest, then was thrown to the ground by an ariel attack. He quickly got back up, then stood completely still. He stood like this for several seconds before his ears perked up.  
"You're there!"  
Shadow threw a punch to his side, and it connected. Espio came into view again, holding his stomach.  
Charmy flew at them screaming, "Espio!"  
Vector reached for him yelling, "Charmy, what're you doin'?"  
Charmy slammed into Shadow, knocking him over. Shadow rolled over and jumped up right into a blast fired by Espio. He was thrown across the field, flipping in midair to land on his feet. He flicked a small blast to Espio's right, which Espio easily batted away, only to be flattened by the blast Shadow had fired immediately after the first. Then Charmy attached himself to Shadow's back. Shadow began to try and reach for him, but couldn't get to him.  
"Don't do it Charmy!" But Charmy ignored Vector, gathering his chaos energy and preparing to self-destruct.  
"Charmy! Stop!"  
"Sorry guys."  
"No!"  
A huge explosion, and both Shadow and Charmy were gone. Smoke began to roll across the fields. Vector fell to his knees as Espio got back up, in disbelief.  
Knuckles walked up to them.  
"At least he killed the saiyan,"  
Vector said, still trying to swallow the fact that Charmy was gone.  
"No, he didn't. I'd be surprised if he even scratched him."  
Vector looked up at hearing Knuckles' comment, and saw a figure silhouetted by the smoke.  
"No. No!"  
Vector ran towards Shadow while firing chaos energy blasts at him. Shadow batted them all away right up until Vector reached him. Vector threw a punch at his face but Shadow sidestepped it and elbowed Vector in the jaw.  
Vector slid across the grass, stopping about twenty yards away. Shadow charged up an energy ball above his head, and just as he threw it another blast thrown by Espio collided with it, causing it to explode in Shadow's face. Vector was already on his feet again and charging towards Shadow, blind with rage with blood spilling from his jaw. Shadow created a chaos shield and shunted Vector with it, sending him flying again as Espio came out of camouflage and blasted Shadow in the gut. Shadow fell back, then flipped and leaped into the sky, launching a blast at Espio. Espio jumped out of the way as the blast incinerated half the field. Vector threw a small chaos ball at Shadow at an incredible speed, only for it to be deflected by Shadow's chaos shield. It was redirected right at Vector, who had no chance to react as it entered his heart. He collapsed to the ground.  
Espio flew up to Shadow and threw a slew of punches and kicks that Shadow avoided with a quickness that suggested he wasn't tired at all. Shadow slid past a kick and grabbed Espio's leg, twirling him around in midair and hurling him towards the ground at high speed. Espio hit the ground hard, falling unconscious.

_**...**_

The dust cleared. Charmy was dead. Vector was dead. Espio was knocked out. And Shadow looked like he hadn't even started fighting yet. Knuckles glanced at Tails, who looked pale as a ghost and was shaking again. Knuckles looked back at Shadow, who had come within just a few feet of them. Knuckles smirked, as did Shadow.  
"Impressive. But there are still three of us left."  
"Really? I only see two."  
"The third, Sonic, isn't here yet. And he is the one you are wanting to fight the most, right?"

_I've got to buy us some time. I don't like to admit it but going up against this saiyan without Sonic would end badly for us.  
_  
"Sonic? You mean Kakarott?"  
Shadow stood, thinking for awhile. Then he walked over to a boulder and sat on it.  
"You have three hours. If he's not here by then; you die."  
Knuckles nodded, then walked away with Tails behind him.


	7. Earth's Only Defense: Part 2

_Author Notes: As I write this on my iPhone, it sure does look like the longest chapter yet. It is also the most revised, as I edited it several times before getting the final product._

I think sometimes the most fun part about writing this is coming up to solutions to problems that replacing Dragonball characters with Sonic ones creates. It took me way to long to figure out a name for Namek, and I still am trying to decide between two different parties for the Ginyu Force. But anyways, I'm not gonna spoil anything. You'll just have to read. Hope you enjoy it!

**...**

**Episode #7  
"Earth's Only Defense: Part 2"**

**"Time Runs Out"**

**...  
**

_A bright light, gleaming brighter than the sun itself._

_A jewel, losing it's luster and becoming gray; dull._

_Himself, lying on his back, drawing his last breaths._

_The saiyan. Death. Destruction._

Knuckles snapped back to reality.  
_  
That dream has haunted me for so long. Today, I find out what it all means._

He looked down at the little half-saiyan next to him, Tails. He was still shaking from what had happened over two hours ago.  
"Tails, we can't beat him if you don't man up."  
"He- he- he killed-"  
"That's a part of battle. He'll kill you too if you don't help me beat him."  
"But, what if I'm not-"  
"Tails, do you think you can beat him?"  
Tails shook his head.  
"Then you will lose. You are strong enough to do this, but that means nothing if you don't have the guts to go with that strength."  
Tails sheepishly nodded.

The landscape melted past Sonic as he ran by suburbia at incredible speed.

_That training under ten times gravity that I undertook really boosted my speed! This is awesome!_

"Whoo!" Sonic whooped for joy as he felt the wind brush past his face, doing what he loved best. But as he came over a crest in the road, he was brought back to reality as the ruined city of Station Square came into view. Sonic, forgetting about the saiyan for a moment, stopped and took in the horrible sight. The smell of gasoline rose with the smoke that filled the sky. He could still feel some remnant chaos energy residing in the ruins. Sonic bolted into the city, feeling for any remaining life energy. The rescue workers from nearby towns were just now arriving. The city outskirts were the least damaged, with a few buildings still standing. But the inner city was just one large blast crater filled with rubble. Sewage pipes had been torn from the ground and were poking out in to the crater in many places, and the awful smell of gas suggested the disaster wasn't over yet. Sonic turned, then dashed towards a condominium that was creating a terrible scraping sound that suggested it's supports were failing.

_I can sense some life energy in there somewhere. There're still two people inside!_

Sonic spotted a steel beam sticking out of the ground near him. He backed up and ran at it, using it as a ramp to propel him into a sixth story window. He pushed off the edge of the beam and directed himself towards the building. Glass shattered as he crashed through a window, creating a chaos shield to protect himself. He had landed in a hallway. The ceiling lights were either shattered or inactive, and the hallway smelled of more gasoline. The end of the hallway was blocked with rubble, so the window was the only way in or out.

_They're three doors down..._

The door to the condo was bolted shut, so Sonic did the polite thing and knocked. When that didn't work, he yelled, "Hey! This whole building is about to come down! Get outta there!"  
He stood there for a few seconds before hearing the door unlock. The door opened to a blonde female who looked to be around twenty years old, shaking with fear. Sonic attempted to calm her.  
"It's okay. I'm gonna get you out."  
She shoved a ball of wrapped blankets into his hands.  
"Take the baby first."  
The building groaned. Sonic didn't argue, running back to the window and jumping out. He flew over to the nearest ambulance and dropped the baby into a bewildered paramedic's hands. Before she could say anything Sonic was off, back to the condominium. He flew towards the window, but stopped when he realized the window was falling. He looked down and realized the entire building was collapsing. He dropped to the ground and watched, horrified. When the smoke cleared, the female's energy was gone. And so was the building.  
After double and triple checking for any more survivors, Sonic sullenly walked back to the outskirts, realizing there was a huge output of chaos energy occurring about a mile away.

_Idiot! The saiyan is out there and you're wasting time here._

_Not wasting time. I saved a life._

But was it at the cost of my friends?

Ten minutes remained until the battle would resume, and neither Shadow nor Knuckles had moved from their spots once. Knuckles had been taking a real good look at Shadow, noting that had no scouter like Scourge did. He had the same haircut as Sonic, though the quill directions were reversed in some spots and there were red streaks running along the back if them. He had two golden rings around his wrists that seemed to constantly emit chaos energy for some reason, and his shoes were very stylized, almost looking too big.

As time ran out, Tails felt he might burst from a mix of anticipation and fear. He paced around Knuckles until his mentor grabbed his head and brought him to a stop.  
"Stop that. Pacing makes me nervous."  
"You get nervous?"  
"You make me nervous."  
Knuckles watched as the kitsune sat down next to him and leaned on him, and realized how much Tails looked up to him.

_I've become a surrogate father for him without even realizing it. And, I hate to admit it, but I've become somewhat attached to the little guy. I'd hate to see something happen to him._

_But I'll do what I have to in order to win._

Knuckles noticed the bush behind Shadow rustle as something inside it shifted it's position. A middle-aged cameraman who apparently thought no one could see him was hiding inside the shrub, holding a camera. The red light that indicated that he was filming was on, practically acting as a beacon and making it impossible to not notice him. Shadow finally moved, standing up. Without even looking at the cameraman, he shot a chaos wave at him, disintegrating both the cameraman and the bush.  
"I hate the media."

Knuckles felt Tails nudge him.  
"What?"  
"Why did he k-kill that guy? He wasn't even doing anything."  
Knuckles eyed Tails, seeing that the kit couldn't keep his hands from shaking.  
"He felt like it."  
Tails sat down, amazed that anyone could be so ruthless.  
"Even I wouldn't have done that... not even during my battle with Sonic. We fought each other, and only each other. There was no reason to kill the innocents."  
They all stayed as they were for another fifteen minutes before Shadow's voice suddenly cut through the silence.  
"I'm bored. We're starting now."  
"We still have a few minutes!" Knuckles was outraged.  
"Kakarott would've been here by now even if he had been on the other side of the planet! You've been stalling, and I'm tired of it."  
Knuckles looked to his side and noticed Tails was cowered behind a rock a few feet away.  
"Tails, get up."  
Tails scrambled to his feet, reluctantly getting ready to fight. As soon as Shadow had taken a step forward, Tails dove behind Knuckles in fear.  
"What a coward. You sure he's a saiyan? Or does he just get that from his father?"  
Tails stepped out from behind Knuckles, his face hardened, and he emanated anger that Knuckles didn't know he had.  
"What did you just say?"  
"Hey! I want to fight the echidna first. Get out of the way runt."

_Did he just call me echidna?_

Tails raised his right hand, about to create a chaos sphere.  
"Tails, stop!"  
Tails froze, then lowered his hand.

"What's an echidna?"  
Shadow leaned his head back and chuckled.  
"You really don't know what you are? I really don't feel like giving you a history lesson."  
"Humor me."  
Shadow grinned, then sat back down.  
"Fine. Echidna are a race of beings like you, who live on a planet called... oh, the name escapes me. Mu- no, Mobius! That's it."  
"So how did I end up here?"  
"I don't know, and don't care. I had thought you came here specifically to create the Chaos Emeralds."  
"You think I created the Chaos Emeralds? That's a little far-fetched."  
Shadow let out a groan of impatience, replying, "Well I just assumed since Echidna are known for their strange powers, you had created them."

_Locke! Locke was the creator of the Emeralds! That must be what I saw! The Emeralds, losing their power when one of us dies!_

"Are you done with your questions?"

Tails glanced back at Knuckles, who lowered his head in the affirmitive. Tails turned back towards Shadow.  
"I am not a coward!"  
He fired an energy disk from his hands, then strafed to the left while Knuckles jumped over him. Shadow ducked under the disk just as Knuckles was directly above him, firing a chaos blast. Shadow rolled to his left as Knuckles' blast destroyed the area where he had been. But now Tails was in front of him. Charging as he was going to attack, only to jump out of the way at the second, as Knuckles flattened Shadow with another blast. Shadow kept moving, getting up quickly and launching a barrage of blasts in all directions, causing Knuckles and Tails to dive for cover. The blasts kicked up a huge amount of dirt and dust, covering the field in a dirt cloud.

_They'll never find me in this stuff._

But Shadow was proven wrong as Knuckles materialized from the cloud right in front of Shadow, throwing a kick at him. Shadow raised a hand to block just in time. Knuckles quickly retreated and rushed around Shadow's side, feinting to Shadow's right and aiming left with a punch to the side, but Shadow had anticipated it and sidestepped it, grabbing Knuckles arm. He attempted to pull Knuckles over his head, but Knuckles pulled him down as he pushed off the ground and rammed his head into Shadow's. Shadow tried to create a chaos barrier to block Knuckles, but it exploded in their faces when Knuckles broke through it, causing them to slide away in opposite directions across the field before coming to a stop about ten yards away from where they had been. Knuckles grabbed his head, which was throbbing with pain.

_Crud! No one wins with a head-butt._

As Knuckles got to his knees, he had his back turned to the sky. He felt Shadow rise above him, then the strong energy of a chaos attack emanated from above him. He rolled away as the blast vaporized the section of Earth where he had been, leaving a crater about his size. Shadow gazed at Knuckles, in disbelief.

_That's impossible! How could he have known that blast was coming?_

And now, despite all the dust filling the air and reducing visibility, Knuckles had made his way behind Shadow, who's only warning was the air displacement Knuckles' punch created. He turned and raised his right arm to block it, knocking Knuckles' hand away and causing him to become unbalanced long enough for Shadow to lift his legs and place his feet into Knuckles' chest, pushing off with such a force that Knuckles' was sent flying into the group of media vans half a mile away. The media had apparently been freaked out by the fight, as they were all cowering behind their vehicles. Knuckles had landed in a space between two vans, with two reporters staring at him trying to decide whether to run from him or help him up. Knuckles tried to move, but his body didn't want to respond.

_Now I've left Tails to fight alone. He'll be dead in minutes._

"Where are you, freak?"

_If I can get rid of the kid now, then the other one will be no problem for me. I just can't risk taking them both on.  
_  
Shadow almost tripped over something hidden in by the tall grass. He looked down, recognizing the chameleon he had fought earlier. He reached down and checked the pulse.

_Still alive! That was sloppy, almost letting one live. That could have come back to haunt me later._

He grabbed Espio and picked him up off the ground. He reared back, ready to throw him, then disintegrate him with a silent blast. He threw the chameleon up into the air and fired the blast, but it missed the chameleon and harmlessly died out in the clouds above. Espio had vanished.

_How is that possible?_

The dusty fog cleared nearly instantly as someone sent a wave of chaos energy outward for miles; but neither Shadow nor Tails had done it. Shadow looked to his right and saw the kitsune in plain sight, ten yards away. He was perched on a rock, and was obviously about to attack Shadow.

_He was that close? What is wrong with me?_

But Tails wasn't staring at Shadow anymore. He was staring at the figure floating in midair, holding Espio.

"Daddy?"  
"Kakarott!"

Sonic gently landed on the ground a few yards away, then laid Espio against a rock. He turned back and looked Shadow in the eye.

"We're fighting one-on-one. No one else, no distractions. Just you and me."  
There was none of Sonic regular cockiness in his voice, instead he carried a heavy tone caused by seeing his dead friends. Shadow looked at Sonic oddly, as a slight grin crossed his face.  
"Alright then. No one else. No distractions!"  
He quickly turned towards Tails and fired a beam of malicious energy at him. Sonic hadn't seen it coming, but Knuckles had. He had watched the whole thing, and made his decision.  
_  
If I try to deflect it, I may kill us both if it doesn't work. If I try to counter it with my own chaos beam, I won't have the power to overcome it. So I must absorb it.  
_  
And in the blink of an eye, Knuckles was in front of Tails, arms wide open. He drew the energy into himself, allowing none to pass by him and taking the full force of the attack.  
"Knuckles!"  
Tears filled Tails eyes as he watched his mentor fall to the ground, mortally wounded. Tails stumbled over to him, holding back his sobs. Knuckles looked up at him, half gone. He smiled.  
"Kid, don't die on me."  
Knuckles' eyes dimmed, and his body became cool to the touch. All the Chaos Emeralds around the world shattered instantly. Locke, creator of the Emeralds, had died with Knuckles. Shadow froze for a moment.  
_  
I didn't mean to kill him! He had information about the Chaos Emeralds! _  
_  
Wait- perhaps his home planet has something similar. Yes, it's possible. And even if it doesn't, I've heard his kind can put up quite a fight. Could be fun._

Shadow's shocked look slowly turned into a smile, then laughter.  
"Idiot; giving his life for a runt. You Earthlings really are stupid, aren't you?"  
Sonic stepped forward and grabbed Shadow's chest.  
"Did you just call my son a ru-"  
Sonic was cut off as Shadow flew out of his hand, carried by the blast Tails had released. But the kit wasn't done. He was still firing, so quickly that even Sonic had trouble seeing his hands move. But Shadow was keeping up, batting them away just in time. Tails leaped into the air and gathered a chaos orb over his head.  
"You killed him!"  
Tails' continued gathering energy for the orb, more than Sonic knew Tails was capable of.  
"You're gonna pay!"  
Sonic watched, not sure if this really was his son. Tails threw the orb at Shadow, who braced for it, still tired after deflecting the other blasts. It hit him with such force that it drove him into the ground, forming a large imprint in the dirt with his feet. He gathered chaos energy around the orb and used it as a rolling wall to push the orb off of him and back into Tails, who was too drained to move. Sonic flicked a quick blast at the orb just as it was about to reach Tails, disrupting it and causing it to explode in Tails' face, sending him hurtling in to the ground. Shadow fell back in to a cliffside, leaning on it while catching his breath. Sonic meanwhile, ran over to Tails.  
"Tails. Hey buddy, you alright?"  
Tails stirred, but when he opened his eyes, the sky blue pupils looked at him with little recognition. He got up looked at Sonic as though he was foreign to him. He ignored Sonic and walked over to Knuckles' body, laying his head on it.  
"Tails, he's dead. You and Espio have got to get out of-"  
"Leave me alone!"  
Sonic stepped back, startled by Tails' outburst. He definitely wasn't the sweet, innocent kid he had known anymore.

_Knuckles, what did you do to my son?_

Shadow was tapping his foot against the ground with a bored look on his face. Sonic snapped to attention and turned to face him.  
"Let's do this somewhere else."  
Shadow glanced towards Tails.

_The runt and the chameleon aren't worth sticking around here anyway._

"Fine. Lead the way."

_Why didn't you save him Dad? I know you could have. But you just watched as he died._


	8. Earth's Only Defense: Part 3

_Author's Notes: Alright! Here's a short chapter to hold you over until the finale to this battle is ready. Enjoy!(Or not. I guess I can't really tell you what to do.)_

**...**_  
_

**Episode #8  
"Earth's Only Defense: Part 3"**

**"Chaos Controller"**

**...  
**

Espio awoke to a throbbing headache. He sat up and glanced around, clutching his aching head with one hand. The landscape had been devastated by energy blasts, and was now dotted with craters. Various pieces of Omega lay here and there, and Vector's body was perched on the edge of another crater. He noticed Tails was on his knees in front of another body on the ground.

_Knuckles._

Espio got up and walked over to Tails, trying to ignore the dizziness he was feeling. As he got closer, he noticed Tails' body was convulsing with sobs. Knuckles fur was wet from Tail's tears.  
"Tails?"  
The kit nearly leaped in to the air.  
"Oh. It's just you."  
Espio knelt beside Tails, gently putting his hand on Tails' shoulder.  
"Let's get you out of here."

**...**

The towering structures of rocks and boulders stretched for miles and miles, creating various canyons and mesas. Desert surrounded the area with harsh winds funneling through the structures. Sonic touched down on the far side of an arch formed by the rocks. Shadow landed on the other side of it.  
"Alright, Kakarott. You've lived too long. Bow to your prince, or be destroyed."  
"I've heard better threats from eggs."  
Shadow strolled up to Sonic, stopping halfway to him. He held out his hand as though he was holding something. Sonic felt his chaos energy sharply rise as he spoke, "Chaos Control!"  
With that, Shadow disappeared and reappeared behind Sonic, who was caught off-guard and was blown off the arch by Shadow.

_He teleported!_

Sonic twisted in midair and landed on his feet in a ravine. He backed up against the rock wall as Shadow flew over. After a minute of waiting for Sonic to reemerge, Shadow suddenly rose up high into the sky and launched a chaos orb at the ground. Sonic saw his chance and bent his knees, tucked in his arms, and created a chaos shield around himself. His legs recoiled as he shot off from the ground at the speed of sound. He tucked in his head and legs and used a small burst of chaos energy to start rotating himself in midair. He used his body to punch a hole through Shadow's blast and pass through it harmlessly. Shadow didn't have time to even think as Sonic rocketed into him, sending them both even higher. Shadow was able to reach out with his arm and fire a chaos blast, using the recoil to push himself off of Sonic. Sonic came out of his jump-dash just in time to see Shadow right himself in midair.

_I'd like to see him try and keep up with me._

Sonic let go of the chaos energy holing him up in the air and let himself plummet towards the ground. As he fell he had to twist in midair as Shadow shot at him with chaos orbs. He could hear the air displacement as they missed him by less than a few inches each time. As the ground rushed up to meet him, he used chaos energy to soften his landing, rolling forward as he hit the ground. Sonic came to his feet and accelerated to his top speed almost instantly. Shadow was struggling to keep up in the air, so he dropped to the ground and began moving his legs and feet as though he were skating on ice. Sonic glanced back and saw he was wearing some sort of jet skate shoes. Shadow pulled up next to him, much to the surprise of Sonic.  
"No one is as fast as me, faker!"  
Sonic tried to speed up, but he was at his limit, as was Shadow. The rocky land quickly became a series of canyons. The two saiyans were suddenly separated as a wedge shaped rock wall forced them to go separate ways. Sonic went left and Shadow ran right. Sonic deftly leaped over a large, dried up creek and landed without missing a beat. He ducked as the wall next to him jutted out in several places, trying to take his head off. Sonic noticed a drop-off into another pit ahead, only it was too big to leap over, so he bowled his head forward and began a spin-dash. He turned to the right at the last second before he would have fallen in, barreling through the rock that separated him from Shadow. Shadow wasn't expecting it, and in his panic Shadow shot at Sonic point blank. Sonic couldn't come out of the dash in time and rolled into it, causing it to explode and send Sonic flying back into the wall. Shadow was pushed by the blast and lost his balance, tripping and hitting the ground at high speed. He performed several somersaults before sliding to a stop. He was quick to rise to his feet again, looking around for any signs of Sonic. He had stopped in a huge, flat area of rock. Aside from a small rock formation here and there, including the wall that had separated them originally, it was barren. A mound of jagged rocks a couple hundred yards away from Shadow began to stir as a white gloved hand removed one of the stones. Eventually Sonic removed himself from the pile. walking over to Shadow. Halfway there, Shadow yelled, "Chaos Control!" and teleported again, this time appearing above Sonic's head. He charged up a chaos beam and fired it quicker than Sonic thought possible. With his speed he dodged it just in time, but the shockwave caused by the impact threw him halfway across the wasteland. As he landed, he heard bones snap. When he rose to his feet he tasted blood in his mouth, as felt more running down his head.

_He's more powerful than I thought. I'll have to use my backup plan._

Shadow reappeared just a few yards in front of Sonic, not a scratch on him. Sonic reached over his head and grabbed, hidden in his quills, a golden band- a ring. He held it in his hand as it grew from the size of a wedding ring to the size of a dinner plate. Sonic held it over his head, feeling the power it contained. He drank it in until the ring popped out of existence, now a part of him. His energy level shot up almost instantly, now matching Shadow's.  
"Nice trick, but it isn't enough."  
Sonic raised an eyebrow.  
"Chaos Control!"  
As Shadow appeared behind Sonic, he was caught off-guard when he noticed Sonic was already backflipping over him. Sonic had anticipated his teleportation, but Shadow reacted quickly and spun around as Sonic landed and punched in one smooth motion. Shadow dodged and landed an uppercut on Sonic, causing him to stumble backwards.

_Okay. One ring wasn't enough._

But I've never tried using two at once. It might destroy me if I can't keep the chaos energy in check.

Can't find out unless I try.

Sonic pulled another ring from his quills and absorbed it like the last one. Shadow took advantage of his exposed position and charged. Sonic was looking for a way to expunge the excess energy, and Shadow provided it when he swung at Sonic's pelvis. They both were able to hear the bones in Shadow's hand crumple as his fist ran into the chaos wall Sonic had created just before the impact. While Shadow was still reeling from the sudden and unexpected pain, Sonic unleashed a wave of excess chaos energy which knocked Shadow off his feet and into the air. Sonic finished it with an overpowered chaos beam that made contact with Shadow in midair. Shadow put a shield around himself for protection, but Sonic continued to fuel the blast, pushing Shadow up into the atmosphere. But Sonic began to feel resistance. Shadow had found a way to fire his own blast at Sonic's, and they were locked in a beam struggle. Sonic began to feel the power of the rings slowly leave his body, allowing Shadow's beam to begin to push his back, right into him. Desperate, Sonic pulled his third and final power ring out from his quills, and absorbed it while maintaining the blast. The added power began to strain his body, but Sonic counteracted the effect by pouring his energy into the beam. The excess energy started to actually cut Sonic in several places when he lost control of it. But despite the intense pain he was experiencing he still managed to push Shadow's beam back all the way into him, engulfing the saiyan. Sonic gave it one last push, sending Shadow out of sight, then his pain overtook him. His legs gave way as he staggered and fell unconscious.


	9. Earth's Only Defense: Finale

**Episode #9  
"Earth's Only Defense: Finale"**

**"How to Save a Life"**

**...**

"Espio, I wanna go back."  
The chameleon halted his flight and spun around to look at Tails.  
"So we just flew halfway to Chuck's for nothing?"  
Tails avoided Espio's gaze, his eyes darting side to side.  
"It's a good thing you spoke up."  
Tails' face brightened up as Espio flew past him.

_Sonic will probably need all the help he can get anyway._

_Strange, I sensed there were three life energies back where Sonic was a minute ago. Now only two remain. Who could have been the third?_

**...**_  
_

Shadow looked around frantically as the clouds beneath him began to turn shades of pink and orange as the sun fell below the horizon. But Shadow wasn't looking at the sunset.

_Blast it! I nearly let him kill me! How did he do that? He was could have pushed me right into outer-space if I hadn't slipped off his beam._

I can't even remember the last time I was forced to use the full moon; it's unthinkable! I'm a prince, an elite fighter! Kakarott is low-level, weak trash!

Wait; where's the moon?

Shadow scanned the sky for the luminous orb.

_I had it all planned out! There was going to be a full moon tonight, it was my failsafe! The moon should have risen over an hour ago!_

"No! Kakarott!"

**...**

Sonic's eyes shot open, and the memories of the battle began to return. He put his arms to his sides to help himself up, but when he attempted to push, he cried out from the sudden, burning pain and let his arms go limp.  
_  
I used too many power rings... they've destroyed my body, and the saiyan is still alive!_

I've got to collect some energy from my surroundings before he comes back, or I'm toast.

Shadow let himself fall to the Earth, putting his feet on solid ground just in front of Sonic. He rubbed his wrist-rings anxiously. Blood poured from a tear in Shadow's right side, and his left eyelid was sealed shut. He gazed upon Sonic with pure hatred.  
_  
I guess my fears were unfounded. With him in this state I wont need the moon at all._

Shadow did not hesitate when placing his palm over Sonic's heart, beginning to gather enough energy to blow a hole right through Sonic's chest.

_To think that he came so close to besting me in combat, this low-level scum! I'll kill him!_

"I've had enough!"

As Shadow's hand pulsed with the energy needed to end Sonic's life, he grinned wildly, on the verge of madness. Sonic tensed for the blow, hoping it would be painless. But before it could come, Shadow was knocked off of Sonic by a chaos blast. He was thrown into a wall of rock, knocking the wind out of the surprised saiyan. As he rolled over, his chest heaving as he tried to grasp a breath, he noticed who had fired the blast. Tails' head came into view from over a ridge. Next to him was Espio, though Shadow could not see him, for he was camouflaged.

_It's... his brat!_

Tails sprinted over to his father, holding something in his hands. Shadow was shocked when he caught a glimpse of it.

_It's another one of those blasted rings!_

"I will not be beaten so easily!"  
Shadow rose to his feet as Sonic finished absorbing the ring's life energy, healing himself. Shadow held his arms outward, palms facings forward.

_Darn him! I'm only able to use this technique once a year, and he's forcing me to use it on him! I hate him!_

"You've forced me to use my final option! You Earth scum are all dead!"  
Without Shadow even touching them, his wrist-rings slid off. The rings fell to the ground, then dissipated. Shadow's good eye had become a white slit, with no pupil. The crimson stripes on his head disappeared. His energy level grew to an unreachable level, and his tail grew even longer. Shadow relaxed his arms and wrapped his tail around his waist. Tails looked on, terrified.  
"What is he?"  
Sonic stood up and faced Shadow.  
"I have no idea."  
Shadow spoke, his voice seeming to come from everywhere.  
"I am a Dark Saiyan. The dark saiyan is awakened in all saiyans whenever they look at the full moon, but since you destroyed Earth's-"  
"The moon is gone?"  
Shadow made a weird face at Sonic.  
"Don't act like you no nothing about that!"  
"I don't! I've never even transformed into a Dark Saiyan..."  
Espio interjected, "Sonic, that's not exactly tr-"  
"Enough!"  
Shadow pushed both Tails and Espio away with a chaos wave and charged at Sonic. Sonic was simply too slow, as Dark Shadow gave him a new set of wounds. Espio and Tails were held to the ground by chaos shields created by Shadow. They could only watch as Shadow knocked Sobic to the ground and placed his foot on Sonic's chest. Sonic was out of breath and couldn't couldn't receive any more air because of the amount of force Shadow was impressing on to his chest. As stars began to invade his vision, Sonic noticed, out of the corner of his eye, a figure nestled in the rocks a few hundred yards away.  
"Sh-shadow?"  
"You have some final words?"  
Shadow lifted his foot just enough for Sonic to get some air.  
"Yeah. Well, it's more of a... goodbye gift."  
Sonic mustered all of his remaining strength and used it to lift his right hand and shoot Shadow's right eye. Shadow stumbled backwards, covering his eye, and began to scream in agony. When he pulled his hands away from the eye, the entire area around the eye was burned and scarred, and his eye was shut. A few tears of pain seeped out of the closed eyelid.  
"I'll kill you! No more games, you're dead!"  
But Shadow froze. A thud came from behind him, the sound of his tail falling to the ground. His energy began to diminish, and his pupils returned. He reverted back to his normal form.  
"Wh-wh-who?"  
They all turned to the person walking up to Shadow. It was Rouge, with a jewel encrusted ninja star in hand.  
"A woman? A woman cut my tail off?"  
Rouge responded in her slow, sultry voice, "And what's wrong with women?"  
For the first time in his life, Shadow had actually been rendered silent by a woman.

_Is this an Earth woman? She doesn't act very woman-like. I thought they all just cowered in the face of battle... all the saiyan women did. But this Earth woman is different; she's intoxicating._

And she cut off my tail!

Shadow reached for her neck, but was stopped short by Espio, who grabbed and twisted his arm, then threw him up into the sky. Espio turned to Rouge, noticing her ninja star.  
"Is that my enchanted spinning star?"  
"Well, of course not. There are tons of other enchanted stars like this out there in th-"  
Rouge stopped short when she noticed Espio wasn't buying in to her lies.  
"Fine. Take it."  
She handed him the star and spread her wings, then flew off.  
When Espio looked back at Shadow, he was already on his feet and charging at Espio. He came at him with a flurry of punches and kicks, but he was so drained from the battle and his injuries that he couldn't touch the chameleon. As Shadow threw a punch over Espio's head, Espio kneed him in the pelvis, then knocked him across the rocky flats, staining the rocks with blood as he slid over them before coming to a stop.  
_  
I've lost. No. This isn't happening._

I must retreat.

Shadow tapped a button attached to his wrist as Tails and Espio strode up to him. It was a wonder Shadow was still conscious considering the severity of his injuries. The noise of an engine drew everyone's attention to the sky. Shadow's spacepod landed in front of him. He reached out and began to drag himself to it with his hands.  
"You're going pay for your crimes, saiyan."  
Espoo raised his throwing star, aiming for Shadow's throat. Tails covered his eyes. Shadow stopped, looking up at Espio.

_I can't do anything! This is it. I'm going to die at the hands of Earthlings. How disgraceful._

"Stop!"  
The order came, not from Tails or Shadow, but from Sonic, still lying on the ground.  
"Let him go."  
"But Sonic-"  
"Espio! Let him go. He can't do any harm anymore."  
Espoo blanched.  
"But he'll come back!"  
"Drop your weapon Espio."  
Espio clenched his fists, staring at his feet for a long while. The star slipped from his hands and fell to the ground.  
Shadow crawled to his ship and climbed in. As the ship powered up and lifted off into the sky, Espio spoke with turning around.  
"We had better not regret this Sonic."  
"We won't."

_I hope._

**...**_  
_

The hospital room was completely silent save for the constant ticking of the clock mounted on the wall. The sun spilled in from the window, showing how early it was. Sonic was laying in the bed, in a full body cast. He could only turn his head so far before the casts stopped him. He felt helpless, even though he knew he was totally safe here. The door sqeaked as the doctor opened it and stepped inside. When Sonic had first been brought to the hospital, the doctor had been unable to explain how Sonic was still alive, and when they had told him what happened he had nearly transferred them all to the mental hospital down the street.

"Hey doc. What's up?"

"You've got some visitors."

The doctor stepped out of the doorway to allow Sonic's friends and family to enter: Uncle Chuck, Espio, Rouge, Tails, and Amy. The pink hedgehog stormed up to him and slapped his face.

"How dare you! You nearly got yourself killed _again_! I was so worried!"

Sonic stared at her for a moment, carefully considering his response.

"Uhm, sorry?"

"You should be! It wasn't enough that you got yourself beaten up, but you had to drag our son into it too!"

She leaned in close to Sonic, then pecked him on the cheek.

"I'm glad you're okay."

"Thanks honey. Hey Tails! Looking good little buddy!"

Tails stepped forward. He had a cast on his leg, though he really hadn't suffered any serious injuries. Amy had freaked out when she had seen a huge gash on his leg and had forced the doctors to put it in a cast. Espio had suffered more injuries than Tails, but hadn't required any casts either.

"So what's the plan now, boy?" Chuck said, gazing out the window.

"I don't actually have one. Without the Chaos Emeralds, I don't see how we could revive anyone."

"Actually, I have an idea about that," Espio interjected, "One of the saiyans said something about Knuckles' home planet. If Locke created the Emeralds and he came from that planet, then maybe they can do something. Maybe make us some new Emeralds."

Rouge chuckled, making everyone stare at her.

"And you know where this planet is out of the billions in the galaxy?"

Espio hung his head. A sound from the window caused everyone to turn to it. Big the Cat was on a flying carpet outside the window, stroking his pet frog.

"I can help. I know where the ship Locke used to get to Earth is."

"Well then, take me to it so I can see if it runs."

Big nodded to Rouge, and flew away. Rouge leaped out the window, then spread her wings and took off after Big. Sonic looked at everyone.

"Then it's settled. We're going to Knuckles' home world."

**...**

"-and that's why I'm back early, my lord."

"Thank you. You may go now."

The saiyan left the chamber. In the middle of it now stood a metal man, formulating a plan.

_I could use the Emeralds to make myself invincible. Earth is so far away though..._

_The saiyan said it was an Echidna that killed Scourge. He may have something to do with the Emeralds._

_The Echidna home world is much closer anyway. And if they don't have any Emeralds, I'll just force them to make me some._

The metal man clicked a button on the scouter attached to his head.

_"Yes, my lord?"_

"Prep my ship. We're going to Mobius."


	10. Target: Mobius

**Episode #10**

**"Target: Mobius"**

* * *

**-Metal Planet A-23; Galactic Hour: 2240-**

The sun set on a barren planet, the only piece of civilization being one large city built into a mountain. Sides of houses emerged from it, with landing platforms attached to the rock and reaching out away from the mountain. On one such platform, two alien beings were taking a break, sitting on the edge of a platform with their feet dangling over the side. They were clothed in very light armor. Two metal plates on their chests and two metal shoulder pads. Scouters covered their left eyes. They were enjoying some sandwiches while conversing.

"Hey, you ever get a date set with that girl guard up on level five?"  
"Not exactly."  
"Whaddya mean?"  
"She told me she'd rather commit suicide."  
"Ouch."

The control console on the platform began to rapidly beep in alarm, signifying a ship coming in for a landing. One of the guards stood up and ran over to it. "I thought you said no one was scheduled to arrive today."  
"I did. Whoever it is, they didn't authorize their arrival through flight control first." The other guard grabbed his energy gun while the other frantically pressed keys on the console to warn flight control.  
"I'm gonna ask those air traffickers up there to identify the ship for me." A few key presses later and the screen flashed blue with a message signifying that the request had been sent. A few moments later a green flashing message popped up onto the screen. The guard's brow furrowed in worry.  
"Direct comm? This must be serious." He clicked a key that confirmed the communication. The face of the flight control manager appeared on screen.  
"We're sending a squad down there. We've identified the ship as Prince Shadow's, but we cannot get him to open his comm to us. Be careful, it might be hijacked."  
"We'll be sure to wait for the squad before engaging."  
"They'll be there shortly." And with that, the comm-link shut down. The guards looked up, scanning the sky for the ship. Movement caught their eyes, revealing Shadow's small pod hurtling towards the landing pad at an alarming speed.  
"Activate the pod dampener! At this speed it'll blow the pad right off the mountain side!" The guard hastily pulled a small lever mounted on the side of the console, causing the center of the landing pad to flip over revealing a large cushion. The pod slammed into the cushion, which absorbed the excess kinetic energy the ship had, bringing it to a stop almost instantly. A minute passed with no one emerging from the craft.

"Maybe we should check it out."  
"Maybe you should check it out. You know, to see if it's safe for me."  
"You're a real friend, you know that?"

The guard slowly approached the pod, getting close enough to peer into the glass window and see inside. When he saw what was inside, he froze. "No . . . way."  
"What is it? Tell me!"

"It's the Prince!"

* * *

Shadow awoke in a healing tank. He felt terrible, and, though he couldn't see himself, looked worse. The battle on Earth replayed over and over in his head so much that he began to feel like he was stuck in limbo between past and present.

_Kakarott and the others had seemed to be able to sense me. I've never even heard of such an ability before. _

_But if those lower-class Earthlings can learn it, then surely I can._

And so Shadow spent his four days in tank trying to figure out how to sense life energies. At first it felt like he was groping around in the dark, but then he slowly began to learn how to reach out and feel the doctor. He couldn't see outside the tank, but he could feel when the doctor was in the room. By the fourth day he could sense anything within fifty yards, but that was with intense concentration. Finally, at the end of his fourth day in the healing liquids, the tank was drained. He opened the hatch to the tank and climbed out. The doctor was holding a set of armor and a scouter. He grabbed the armor and equipped it, but handed the scouter back to the doctor. "I won't need the scouter." The doctor was visibly surprised by this, but didn't say anything as Shadow attached his jet skates to his feet and left.

As Shadow strolled the halls of the hospital ward, he noticed people giving him strange looks and stifling laughter whenever he would walk by. He even overheard someone call him a "weakling". He got on to a lift and hit the button that would take him two floors below. Just before the lift door closed, two guards walked in and choose their destinations. The door closed and the lift shuddered as it began descending. One of the guards gave Shadow a long look, then burst into a fit of laughter.

When the door opened on the floor Shadow wanted, he stepped off the lift, the inside of which was now coated in blood and filled with two decaying bodies.  
He walked down the hallway until seeing a doorway on his right. It was lit up with neon lettering above, though he didn't bother to read it as he entered. He was greeted by the sound of technophone music pounding against his inner eardrums. The room was fairly large, and had a dance floor, lounge area, and bar. There were close to fifty people in the club. Ignoring everything else, Shadow made a beeline to the bar. He didn't bother to sit down, instead yelling at the bartender until he got his attention. The purple weasel walked over to him, cleaning rag in hand.  
"I'll have the usual, Nack."  
"Sure thing Shadow." As Nack began concocting the drink, he casually addressed Shadow without looking at him. "Heard you took a detour to Earth."  
"Where did you hear that?"  
"Shadow, everyone knows. What we don't know is what happened to you . . ."  
"I'd be even more of a laughing stock if people knew what happened."  
"Yeah? So it was that bad! I can see why you need this." Nack slid the foaming beverage at Shadow, who caught it and took a swig.  
"Yeah, that's good stuff." Shadow took a few more drinks as Nack took some other orders. After about half an hour and three drinks, Shadow slid his mug back to Nack, who leaned forward, just inches from Shadow's face.  
"C'mon Shads. We've known each other for awhile. I'll keep it quiet if you just tell me what happened."  
"Nack," The weasel leaned in even closer, a phony smile plastered on his face as he waited for the answer.

"No."

Nack leaned back again, then turned to someone else calling for a drink. "Have a nice day Shads." The tone that Nack said it in suggested he meant just the opposite. As he walked away, Shadow whispered under his breath, "Don't tell me what to do, rodent."  
He stood and exited the bar.

Rouge had been following Big for hours. The cool northern air had become harsh, coarse with sand. Rouge was holding her arm in front of her face to shield her eyes from the sand, as was Big. The cat began to descend into a gigantic canyon, so long that Rouge couldn't see the end in either direction.  
Rouge landed a few yards away from Big, who was folding up the carpet to the seemingly impossible size of his palm. The wind was even stronger down in the canyon than in high up in the sky, funneled through the rift in the Earth. The sun was at it's zenith, bathing the canyon in light. They had landed on a small piece of rock extending from the wall into a river that ran through the canyon. Rouge brushed the sand off her shoulders and clothes. "So where are we anyway?"  
"The Grand Canyon."  
"In Arizona? We traveled further than I thought. So that means that this is the Colorado River, right?"  
"Correct."  
The water splashing into the rock and onto them was a refreshing feeling compared to the incredible heat they had experienced outside the canyon.  
To anyone else it would appear that they were stranded on the rock, but Big turned around at the rock wall and walked straight through it without flinching, as though it wasn't even there. "This way!" Big yelled from the other side, already sounded quite far away. Rouge reluctantly followed him, and entered total darkness. Next thing she knew, she was tumbling down a set of stairs, hitting a stone landing that lead to another set of stairs going the opposite direction even further down.  
A lantern on the landing lit the way as Rouge gingerly walked down the next flight of steps. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally reached the bottom, passing under a crude archway and into a massive underground chamber lit with lanterns that lined the walls. The cave looked as if it was created from something crashing into the ground, then was covered up by natural rock to create this hollow space.  
"Big? Where are you?"  
"Over here!" Big's voice emanated from the center of the room echoing off of the stone walls. His voice seemed to be coming from a large silhouette in the shape of a disc, which stood in the center of the room, looking to as big as a a jumbo jet, possibly bigger. Big emerged from behind it, beckoning to Rouge with his hands. As Rouge got closer to it, she realized it was, in fact, a spaceship in the shape of a saucer. Big pressed a button on the side, extending the loading ramp to the inside.

"Come."

She entered, walking right into a cobweb. She swiped her hands at her face until she got it all off, then took her first look at the ship's interior. It was three rooms, a massive open space, a kitchen, and a bathroom. On one end of the open space, there was a window about the size of a mid-sized car. It was shaped to stretch from ceiling to floor, and was rouded to meet the shape of the ship. Just in front of it was a control console that wrapped halfway around a chair. Other than that, there was nothing else. The kitchen merged with the open room towards the back, and next to it was the door to the bathroom.

"I need to check that computer." Big nodded as Rouge went to inspect the console. She found the power switch and turned it on. At first nothing happened, and she feared the ship's power source had died. But after a few seconds, the console lit up and began to whir. She dusted it off and plopped into the seat. Immiediately she was met with a language she was unfamilar with. "Big!"  
"Yes?"  
"Can you read this?" Big walked over and scanned the console and it's labels.  
"This is no foreign language, to you or I."  
"Sure looks foreign to me."  
"Anything would if thee labels had been partially peeled off. You see?" He pointed to a label that had clearly been torn. "Locke used to tell me that his first memories were of finding ways to spend his time on the ship. Messing with the labels might have been one of them."  
"So if I just turn the computer on . . ." Rouge hit a few buttons randomly until a holographic display appeared on the left portion of the window in front of her. "Perfect. Now i just have to check the navigation logs and see if I can figure out how fast this baby can go."

A few hours later, Rouge was finished, so she whipped out her cell phone and hit 1 on her speed dial. The person on the other end picked up and, in a gruff voice, spoke, "What's up, Rouge?"  
"I need some cargo transferred to an HQ launch pad."  
"Rouge, just because you're an agent doesn't mean G.U.N. will do your errands. That's what we pay you to do."  
"It could have some research value in astronomy, military, and possibly even computer programming." There was a pause, then she was placed on hold. After a few minutes, the guy picked back up.  
"Where is it?"  
"Arizona, Grand Canyon."  
"That's a long haul."  
"But you'll do it?"  
". . . Just have it ready when we get there."  
"I'll be long gone and out of the way. I'll leave a GPS beacon for you."

* * *

Shadow walked into the navigation chamber and clicked the light-switch. Light flooded the space, revealing no one else was in the room.

_Strange. Metal almost always has someone monitoring the star map._

He had come here to find the exact location of Mobius on the map. The star map, a large ring of computers and interfaces lining the outside with the projector in the middle, was deactivated. Shadow booted up the internal computer and started the map program. But nothing happened aside from small message appearing on the computer view screen.

_INVALID ENTRY: Order1337 Denied Access()Order()METAL-NO ACCESS_

The message lit the screen blue until Shadow shut down the computer.

_Why would Metal shut down the star maps? Unless he didn't want someone knowing where he was going . . . No, he couldn't know. Could he?_

_Of course not. I'm getting too paranoid._

Guess I'll have to hope my pod's nav computer knows where it is.

* * *

The hospital room was full of commotion with Rouge, Espio, Tails, Amy, Chuck, and Sonic inside. They had all been discussing what other methods they could use to reach Mobius, and had just ran out of ideas when Rouge returned from her trek to Locke's old ship with Big.  
The room was lit by a lamp next to the bed as the sun had just fallen beneath the horizon.

"So, I did some calculations," Rouge said, "And it's not very promising. With the fastest spaceship on the planet, which turned out to be Locke's old ship, it would take two full days to exit the solar system, and using the coordinates logged into the ship's computer, it would take approximately six Earth months to reach Mobius." Everyone's head's fell in disappointment aside from Espio's.  
"Then we'll go ahead without Sonic. I mean, we shouldn't run into any trouble there."  
"You forget that Shadow knows about the planet," Chuck interjected, "However, I think Espio is correct in saying that you all should leave now. The Ring Pool won't generate another healing ring for about a month. That's valuable time that you guys could be using to travel, wasted on waiting for Sonic."  
Rouge appeared apprehensive. "Yeah . . . there's another problem. I have no way of knowing if the preset coordinates are actually for Mobius. If they're incorrect, we'd waste a whole year in space." Espio raised his head just enough to meet Rouge's eyes.  
"I'm up for it."  
Rouge glanced at Chuck, who sighed heavily, then spoke, "If you are willing to take the risk, then you must. We may not get another chance."  
"I'm willing," Rouge said. "But who should I take? Espio is the only one here who is healthy enough." She scanned the room. Chuck was too old, Amy was out of the question, as was Sonic. But then she saw Tails staring at her with pleading eyes. "How about Tails?"  
"NO!" Everyone recoiled at the volume of Amy's disturbed voice. "I just got him back after an entire year, and now you want to take him away for another one? He's not going!" Chuck used Amy's pause to take a breath to intervene.  
"Amy; if he were to go, he could help out a lot." Chuck spoke with the softest, gentlest voice he could find.  
"But I don't-"  
"He could help revive all who died in the struggle."  
"Excluding Knuckles?"  
"Especially Knuckles!" Tails almost yelled at his mom as he spoke, incredulous at her statement.  
"Why would you want that demon revived, honey? He's evil! Remember the stories I used to tell you about him?"  
"He's different, mom."

"He's my friend." Tails words stunned everyone in the room, especially Amy, who looked ready to faint.

"So are you in?" Rouge said. Tails nodded in affirmation, with no protest from his mother. Amy walked out the door, looking defeated and heartbroken.  
Chuck strode to the door. "I'll talk to her," he said as he walked out, following Amy. Rouge looked at Sonic.  
"You have anything to say, Sonic?"  
"He's been pretty quiet," Espio said. Rouge noticed the covers had been pulled over Sonic's face. She gently pulled them off and saw that his eyes were closed, lost in a deep sleep.  
"I can't believe he slept through that!" She said in a loud whisper. She walked back over to Espio and Tails. "In three days, we'll meet at G.U.N. HQ. That's where I docked the ship, and that's where we'll take off."

* * *

Shadow walked out of the navigation chamber and turned a corner, bumping into an elite guard. When he realized who it was, his blood boiled. "Watch where you're going, Geoffrey." The skunk stood in font of Shadow, a scowl crossing his face upon recognizing Shadow.  
"That's Lieutenant to you, saiyan trash."  
"I'll call you whatever I want, Geof."  
Geoffrey tensed for a moment at hearing Shadow address him so casually, then relaxed. "I'll let that one slide since I'm in such good mood today."  
"And why's that?"  
"Oh, just heard a funny story about how a saiyan went to a planet full of weaklings and got thrashed. Funny story. You hear about that?"  
Shadow ground his teeth, resisting the every urge in his body to kill the skunk.  
"I heard."

_How does he know what happened if no one else does?_

"Then I guess you also heard that his friend came back and told Metal all about some sort of magical emeralds. Apparently the saiyan went to get them without telling Metal." Shadow clenched his fists, squeezing as hard as he could, trying to draw blood from his own palms.

_Metal knows about them now!_

"In return, Metal killed the 'informant' and blasted off to some planet called Mobius to become immortal. I bet that saiyan feels pretty stupid; doesn't he?" Geoffrey stumbled backwards from a blow Shadow had stuck to his face. Everyone around them stopped and stared for a brief second, then continued walking past. Shadow sprinted past Geoffrey, swiping his scouter right of his face.  
"I'll be needing this!"  
Geoffrey turned around and chased after Shadow, who was running to the launch pads.

"Shadow! Stop!"

Shadow didn't bother to open the door the launching pads, and just knocked it down. He bolted past two dumbstruck guards and ran over to a space pod. As he was climbing in, Geoffrey appeared back at the entrance. "Don't do it Shadow! Don't press that-"  
But Shadow had already pressed the launch button. The pod shot off the platform and into the atmosphere. Two guards ran up to Geoffrey.  
"What's going on St. Jo-"  
"Out of the way!" Geoffrey brushed past the guards and hopped into another pod.

* * *

Safely out of the atmosphere, Shadow entered his destination into the navigation computer, laid back, and slept. As he dozed off, he didn't notice the other pod appear behind his and begin following his.


End file.
